Protective garment for children

ABSTRACT

THE PRESENT GARMENT FOR PROTECTING CHILDREN&#39;&#39;S CLOTHING IS MADE OF RELATIVELY HEAVY, WATERPROOF FABRIC, COVERING THE BACK AS WELL AS THE FRONT OF THE CHILD, AND CAN BE OPENED AND CLOSED IN FRONT BY MEANS OF VELCRO $ TYPE FASTENERS. THE HEAVY MATERIAL AND THE POSITIONING AND NATURE OF FASTENER EMPLOYED MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR SMALL CHILDREN TO PUT ON AND CLOSE SUBJECT GARMENT WITHOUT HELP FROM ADULTS.

Nov. 2, 1971 s. K. WHITTEN 3,616,464

PROTECTIVE GARMENT FOR CHILDREN Filed Sept. 8, 1969 33 SYLVIA K. WHITTEN INVENTOR.

fi /fix? United States Patent Oifice 3,615,464 Patented Nov. 2, 19'?1 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present garment for protecting childrens clothing is made of relatively heavy, waterproof fabric, covering the back as well as the front of the child, and can be opened and closed in front by means of Velcro type fasteners. The heavy material and the positioning and nature of fastener employed make it possible for small children to put on and close subject garment without help from adults.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to childrens apparel, and more particularly to protective garments and aprons for small children for preventing childrens clothing from becoming soiled during play.

The circumstances which lead to the development of the present protective garment involved the observation of activities and behavior of children in nursery school and day care center environments. Typically, the children will be delivered at the center in ordinary clothes and surrendered to the supervision of adults operating the center or nursery school. Normal ratios encountered are up to as many as two dozen children per supervising adult. Common activities include finger painting, drawing with crayons, as well as the usual outdoor playground activities. A common problem relates to methods for keeping the children and their clothing reasonably clean during these activities, for which reason the children are usually provided with aprons or protective coats or smocks.

The practice of wearing aprons or similar protective garments such as coats, coveralls, etc., to prevent soiling of clothes during work or play is, of course, ancient, and a large variety of such outer garments are available in adult as well as childrens sizes. However, the garments available for small children are generally the same cuts or type as the adult sizes, i.e., aprons with apronstrings or buttons. While such garments are of course largely satisfactory for adult use, my experiences indicate that such items are not practical or efiicient for use in the nursery school or day care center environment referred to above.

The reasons therefore are primarily due to the general inability of small preschool-age children to tie apron strings, close buttons, or operate zippers, particularly if located in the back of the garment, so that the attendant adults help is required to dress each individual child. Even children who have mastered the skill of closing a row of buttons are frequently frustrated by not being able to put on the garment, or being unable to match the buttons with the proper buttonhole. This is, of course,

. a condition which consumes a substantial portion of the adults time and attention.

Also, most aprons or similar articles for children provide insufiicient coverage to protect the clothing during group play, painting, or drawing, which requires frequent individual attention solely for the purpose of cleaning or changing the clothing of each child, giving rise to continuous interruption of the normal routines.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a protective garment for children which is constructed in such a fashion that small preschool-age children can readily master or be taught to put on and close themselves without adult assistance.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apron or similar protective garment which will complete cover the clothing of the child and protect it against becoming soiled and wet during play and similar activities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects are achieved by my protective garment, which is cut in such a form so as to cover both the back and front of the child, and so as to open down in front with a liberal overlap. The garment is made entirely of relatively heavy, or stiff, material, so as to inherently position and align the corresponding fastening means provided, in order to facilitate proper closing thereof. The fastening means employed are a type of closure comprising nylon tapes having naps or piles comprised of myriad small fiber loops and fiber hooks, respectively, which engage and form a tight closure by simply pressing the two tape sections together. This type of closure tape is commercially available, and is marketed by the Hartwell Corporation under the trade name of Velcro nylon tape fasteners. For brevity, the term nylon tape fastener will be used hereinafter to denote this type of closure employed in the present garment. The advantageous attribute of this type of fastener is that it has suilicient strength to hold the garment closed during normal wear, and is easily opened by simply pulling the two tape sections apart. By providing a garment with the combination of features of opening in front, being comprised of somewhat stiffer material so as to essentially self-position the fasteners in alignment, plus providing the above specified fastener of surface area and positioning more fully described below, I have found that even very young children are able to, or can rapidly be taught to, dress and undress without assistance from adults. The advantages of the use of the present garment in nursery schools and day care centers in terms of saving the attendants time, which can be more profitably spent on other activities with the children, are readily apparent. However, it will also be realized that, while the present protective garment is ideally suited for use in these supervised group activity situations, its use is not intended to be limited thereto.

To further enhance the ease with which subject smock may be opened and closed, the preferred smock employs tape fasteners in the form of pairs of narrow strips disposed in crossed relation to each other on plastic impregnated fabric. The narrow strips provide a greater likelihood that corresponding fastener section will indeed meet when the child closes the garment. On the other hand, the amount of overlap is always limited to make it easy to open the garment.

Examples of materials which could also be used are coarse cotton, denim or sailcloth; however, vinyl-impregnated fabric of 15-25 mils thick is preferred, since these materials are heavy enough to help position the fasteners and do not cling to the childs body or clothes. If desired, the present garment can also be worn backwards.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will be made to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of the present protective garment, partially opened in front to show the fastener employed;

3 FIG. 2 is a front view of a preferred disposition of the fastener;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the front portion of the garment, showing the preferred crossed disposition of the nylon fastener tapes; and

FIG. 4 shows an alternate closure construction in cross section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PKEFERED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, the garment 10 is cut in the form of a sleeveless jumper of full length, i.e., extending from neck to about the knee, similar in extent as girls dresses. It should be realized, of course, that the length of the garment may be varied as desired; similarly, sleeves may be provided. However, sleeveless cuts are much preferred, in that it reduces the expense of the article, and more importantly, makes dressing and undressing easier for the children.

An important feature of the present invention is that the material 11 of which this garment is made should be relatively heavy, i.e., less flexible than ordinary apron or dress materials, the purpose being to give the garment sufficient body to prevent the lapels 12 from drooping or folding. More specifically, the preferred materials are plastic-impregnated fabrics, such as vinyl cloth, of a thickness of about 10 to 30 mils. Such materials offer the additional advantage of being waterproof. As a result, the garment can also be wiped clean with a moist sponge, rather than having to be laundered. For better comfort, it is recommended to cut these garments slightly oversize, and to provide oversize armholes 13. There are, of course, a Wide variety of heavy-weave materials, which may be scotchguarded or made water repellent by a variety of treatments well known in the art, which could also be employed.

The stiffness or body of the garment is preferably enhanced by providing stiffer edges 14, which are readily obtained by folding the material, and also by lining the edge with an overlaying strip 15 of a suitable cloth or fabric material, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

The garment is closed by means of nylon tape fasteners 16 as discussed above. Each closure comprises two interacting nylon tape sections which are pressed together. One of these sections exhibits a pile of tiny fiber hooks l7 distending away from the nylon tape section 18 which is fastened to the material 11. The other nylon tape section has a pile of loops 21, in which the hooks become enmeshed upon being pressed together. This type of fastener is readily available commercially, and is marketed under the registered trademark Velcro by the Hartwell Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif.

Under conditions of normal wear, the stress applied to the closure is in the plane of the joint between the two sections. This essentially distributes the stress over the total number of hooks and loops enmeshed in one another. The closure made is therefore strong enough to resist the stress and remain closed. On the other hand, when it is desired to open the garment, it is very easy to peel the two sections apart. Here, the load is applied perpendicular to the plane of the joint, and therefore to but a few hooks and loops at a time. The present closure is therefore ideally suited for childrens garments of the present type, since the operations involved are simple and natural, and easily carried out by children.

The stiffness of the material helps to bring the two sections of the closure into near alignment when the child puts on the garment. However, to ensure that the two mating sections 18 and 19 of the closure will indeed overlap. I provide closures comprising sections of relatively large large area. Accordingly, even if the child is unable to close the coat with the fasteners aligned, there will be sufficient overlap of the fasteners to provide a closure. Typical dimensions of the fastener sections are one to two square inches.

Such nylon tape fasteners are relatively expensive. However, I have found that two such fasteners are sufficient, one near the neckline and another in the midsection area. Maximum assurance that the child will achieve some overlap of the closure for minimal closure surface is obtained by attaching narrow sections, e.g., /s Wide, and about 1 /2" in length, to the material in the crossed position shown in FIG. 2.

The nylon tape fasteners may be satisfactorily secured to the fabric in a variety of ways. The fastener section may, of course, be sewn to the fabric. However, with the preferred materials of vinyl-impregnated fabrics, the preferred way to attach fasteners is to use tapes which have been pre-coated with adhesive which can be activated immediately prior to use by applying solvents, e.g., acetone or other ketones, and water. Another method of securing the fastener to vinyl or other fabrics is by using tape fasteners having heator pressure-activated adhesive precoats.

Such adhesives are well known in the art, and commercially available. The fastener types are also available in a ready-to-use, precoated condition, and are marketed by the Hartwell Corporation with the designations SA0l40A, WA-0130A, and PS0lO0 adhesive precoated Velcro.

With reference to FIG. 3 which shows one fastener arrangement in cross section, hook and loops sections 18 and 19 are respectively secured in opposing relation to corresponding surface portions of material 11 adjacent the front edge 14, /2-1" away therefrom. It will be realized that either side 26 or 27 of the material 11 may serve as the outer surface. With the proper choice of material and appropriate bilateral finishing of seams 28, the smock may be worn reversibly, i.e., with either side 26 or 27 outward. Accordingly, tabs 29 are secured to the material 11 Opposite fasteners 18 and 19, to provide a means for opening the closure. The tabs may be made of cloth in various shapes, such as animals or flowers, etc. In each case, however, the tab is secured so that a loose portion 32 distends away from the area opposite outer edge 33 of the fastener sections, since it is in this area where the force must be applied to pull the closure apart.

As shown in FIG. 4, buttons 34 may be also used, again fastened in the area near edge 33. It will, of course, be realized that any combination of decorative tabs, pompoms, or buttons could be provided on one or both sides of the smock closure.

Having thus described my invention in terms of what may be considered to be the preferred forms or embodiments of the invention, it will be readily realized by those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A protective garment for a child comprised of sections of a relatively stiff material covering the back, shoulders and front of said child, said garment being cut so as to form an opening down in front between overlapping lateral front sections of said material, extending from the neckline to the hemline of said garment, said material being reinforced along the edges of said opening in front, said garment further comprising tape fastener sections having naps of hooks and loops, respectively, secured to facing surface portions of said overlapping lateral front section, said tape fastener sections subtending a relatively large area between about one and two square inches.

2. The garment of claim 1, further defined in that said garment is sleeveless.

3. The garment of claim 1, further defined in that said material is vinyl-impregnated cloth of a thickness between about 20 and 30 mils.

4. The garment of claim 1, further defined in that said material is water-repellent, heavy-weave cloth.

5. The garment of claim 1, further defined in that said tape fastener sections are in the form of elongated strips between about and /8" wide, said strips of each of said pairs being disposed and secured to said material in crossed relation to each other.

6. The garment of claim 1, further defined in that said material is finished on both sides, and tabs are secured to both sides of said overlapping lateral front sections on the opposite side of said tape fasteners, in the area where said fasteners extend most closely to the edge of said front section, said tabs having a loose portion distending away from said area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Godoy 24-67 A Oakvik 2-50 Schattel 249 Izzo 2-108 X Foster 24-201 V X 10 ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner 

